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Mel
Tonasket
 Representing Health
and Sanitation
Date Appointed: February 2004
Term Ends: July 2010
Mel Tonasket was appointed to the Board in February 2004 and reappointed
December 2007. He was
born on the Colville Indian Reservation. He served in the United States Navy,
United States Naval Security Group. He worked for 6 years with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Colville Indian Agency, Colville Indian Reservation. He was a
public affairs specialist for the Portland Area Office of the Indian Health
Service, director of Indian Policy and Support Services for the Washington
Department of Social and Health Services, and service unit director for the
Colville Indian Health Center. He also owned and operated the Omache Health
Spa in Omak.
He
currently serves on the Colville Confederated Tribal Council (he has been
a member for 19 years) and was formerly chairman of the School Board for
Paschal Sherman Indian School in Omak. He was elected president of the
National Congress of American Indians for two terms and first vice president
for one term. He was a member of the congressional American Indian Policy
Review Commission for 2 years and has represented United States tribal
governments at the World Council of Indigenous Peoples and at the
Inter-American Indigenous Conference in Brazil.
Mr.
Tonasket was a member of the Public Health Improvement Plan Steering
Committee
and is on the State Advisory Committee for the Department of Social and Health
Services. Other advisory boards and committee appointments have included:
the Indian
Education Program, Eastern Washington University; the Graduate School of
Public
Administration, University of Washington; the Environmental Studies
Program,
University
of Washington; The Future of Rural Health Advisory Committee, Washington Health
Foundation; and the Indian Policy and Support Services Advisory Committee, Department
of Social and Health Services (Colville delegate). He is on the board of
directors for the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and the Okanogan
Regional
Home
Health and Hospice. He served previously on the boards of Northwest Renewable
Resources Center, the Governor's Indian Advisory Council, and Family Health
Centers.
Mr. Tonasket
has 3 sons and 4
grandchildren.
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